The Rides Of March

It’s that time of the year when the very atmosphere is uncertain whether to be one season or another and the air can be thick with fog or blinding with snow. Either way, the months are taking dead aim at the coming of new star pacers and trotters, juvenile wonders and sophomore heroes.

Such is the nature of March, when a horseplayer does not shun the present but still looks forward to the future, with all of its glamour. Still, the color of the money won during this undefined time that is famous only for the death of Julius Caesar (who did not pay attention to March 15 as well as it was suggested) can stock the bankroll for the highlighted, headlined events of the months ahead.

So, as the bandit said to his band, “We ride!” And in March our path is laden with horses to watch from all over the continent in events that will be shamefully overlooked once the gleaming of stars and six-digit purses adorn the marquee. Never ones to dismiss great wagering opportunities, we uphold our expectations for the horses-to-watch list (H2W, which has been very kind to all aspects of pari-mutuel wagering available.

There is still more, since TwinSpires’ 10-percent bonuses on winning Pick 4s at Buffalo Raceway on Wednesday nights (this past Wednesday the track was closed due to bad track conditions but has returned to action) and Woodbine on Saturday nights continues into March.

Check out the details for Woodbine here.

Check out the details for Buffalo here.

Looking for a big score, we add our suggestions for Saturday’s Woodbine Pick-4 events, tagged with a TwinSpires bonus, and hope to help you build a ticket with other than the obvious dead-on public choices. Check back later if that information is not printed below, as we have to add it after press time.

March Mildness

It doesn’t qualify as “madness,” in the college basketball sense, so we are calling the next round of winter series at the New Meadowlands mild.  

This weekend begins a new round of top-class action and the finale of another. On Friday, March 1, the Horse & Groom series for three-year-old-and up trotters will hold its first preliminary. Saturday, March 2 starts round one of the Aquarius series for four-year-old Open mare pacers and the final of the Junior Trendsetter for sophomore pacers.  

In the first division of the Horse & Groom, on paper, the field is wide-open. We’ll take our chances with a horse we had last week, Volare De Vie. He trotted a pocket trip in the “Singer” last week chasing Real Babe into the final eighth. He goes against a weaker field here, so he should race better and be towards the top early.  

The second division is a two-horse race. There are two contenders, Quick Deal and Modern Family. Quick Deal is the likely favorite, due to his remarkable miles in the last few weeks against the A-1 and A-2 trotters. But we will go with the other contender, Modern Family. Since turning four, the horse has improved greatly, coming off of three-straight wins at Dover, two of which were in the Open. He is a sharp colt and could do much better on the mile track, versus the five-eighths.  

The Aquarius draws in a top-notch that look to be very competitive. We have two horses in here, Warrawee Needy and Escape The News. Warrawee Needy is coming off a great qualifier off a three-month layoff. He should improve greatly tonight and is a menace in the field but may be a short price. Escape The News is also sharp. He is coming off three-straight wins, one in 1:50.2 in the A-1/A-2 pace in January. He recently qualified in 1:53 and should be the main rival to Warrawee Needy and will likely sit near the top and stalk the leader.  

The Trendsetter became a little harder to handicap, since most of the favorites drew the outside posts. This gives an opportunity for an upset. We have two contenders here, Humility and Terror High. Humility is always close to the pace and will likely get a pocket trip but the likely leader, Resistance Futile, will likely drop out due to having to negotiate his path from post 10. From there, Humility can slingshot into the stretch and win the final as he won in the first leg. Terror High is also a threat. He is always close to the lead and challenges the tempo. His driver should ration his speed for half of the mile and may make his move late, so then he doesn’t burn out early in the mile.

 

H2W Legend

Always review the H2W legend, published weekly, to authenticate the choices and follow the wagering at the prescribed track to decide how you will use the information.

Before the horses’ names is the track, followed on the next paragraph by a date it (or they) will be racing, with the race in which they are entered (R and race number). If a + is in front of a horse’s name, it means that horse is appearing on the list for the second (and last time) because it failed to win the first time it appeared. An “ae” means the horse is on the also-eligible list and needs a scratch to get into the race. Sometimes up to three horses are listed in the same race; it is up to you how to deal with the situation (note that in the past this situation has resulted in exacta and triples).   

If a horse that has appeared on the list but was scratched or is not racing its second week consecutively, you will see a N/R after its name and will appear on a separate line from dated entries. And if a horse shows up at another track in its second week of being listed, it will display the plus sign as indicated above.    

There is a margin of error, of course, so we encourage you to keep your own list along with our list to be sure our H2W is free of mistakes.   

All members of the list need to be considered serious contenders in the races noted. Wagering on any of them is based on your own judgment of value, as well as if you wager to win, place, show or in exotics. If you have any questions about the H2W list, send them to us through the TwinSpires blog channel.  

H2W  

Balmoral
3/2/13, +Gram Legend R1; Shipps Con R5; Star City Hero R6; Fashion Delight R6; Dave’s Bid R6; Camgrandest R7; Mcmantle R7; Whistle Pig R8; Zall Good R9; Lennox Blue Chip R10; Fox Valley Yukon R11; Look Ma No Hands R13; Bucks Luck R13; Ohyouateonetoo ae R13  

Buffalo
3/1/13, Allamerican Danube ae R3; +Lutetium R4; +Dartmouth Hall ae R4; +Mighty Looker R4; +Premier Cami Cane R5; +MS Heather M Linnea P R6; +Sharp Lady R6; Pick Up Point R12; +Little Haus R12Wyndridge Bliss R13
3/2/13, +Card Dealer R6; +Mr Terror R7; +Brave Call R7; Auditorial R9; Allamerican Dice; R10+Answer The Bell R12; Palmer’s Z Tam ae R12
Shoe In N/R; Donegal Jim N/R; Mattador D N/R; Monsier DeVie N/R; Marvelthisbliss N/R; In Good Hands N/R; Dudley Doright N/R 

Cal Expo
3/1/13, Vantage R1; Eternal Overdrive R2; +Paradise Ragtime R4; Ginnysdoodledandy R4; Sleigh Bell R7; Bubba Mcgee R10; Schemes R11; +Poorlittlerichgirl R15
3/2/13, Forever My Love R1; Andynicol Tomridge R2; Windy City Paige R4; Coal Younger R6; +Red Star Popeye R8; +Go Go Fast R9; Style Element ae R9; Lucky Asset R10; +Larry Horse R10; +Terror Time R11; Glad To Be Here R15
Comeshomeearly N/R; Matty Rose N/R; Notable Intension N/R; Mighty Fine Hi Ho N/R; Asgoodasioncewas N/R; Smiling Major N/R; Wildcats Major N/R; Barona Destiny N/R; Skyway Major N/R; Blue Boy Yankee N/R  

Fraser
3/1/13, Pureform Athena R1; Call Me Up R2; Jans Rich Girl R2; +Degas Protégé R3; Red Star Vickers R4; Millbanks Sniper R4; +Semper Fortis; Spider M R5; Tahuya Clem C R6; Steal The Diamonds ae R6; +Limit The Risk R7; Beach Boy Toy R7; Midnight Destroyer R10; Segomo ae R10
3/3/13, +Red Star Bogart R1; Promise To Lynette R2
Rosie Lookin N/R 

Freehold
3/1/13, +Bets Draggin Fly R1; +My Man Ben ae R4; Jarnac R4; Titan Park R7; +Nanette Hall R8
Blue Monster NR; Bell On Wheels NR  

Lebanon
3/1/13, Do You Wanna Rumba R1; +Simply Jorgeous R5; My Surfer Girl R6; +Sarahs Ruby R6; +Toucam Sam R9
3/2/13, +Cruise To Fame R3; +Gunmans Bandit R5; +Super Dream R9
Machine NR; Bell Valley Indian NR; Roger And Sam NR; Sir Johnny Colt NR  

Maywood
3/1/13, +Speed Minister R3+Richard Traci R13; Frostonpumpkin R13

Meadows
3/1/13, +Solong Saboo R1; ItsADeal R2; +Grin-n-scoot R7; +Ellisarro Hanover R9; +Desperate Crowds R11; Hayden Abbe N R13; +Pure Defiancy R13; +Church St Boom R14; +Grateful John ae R14
Anais Kicker N/R; Gambler’s Vacation N/R; They Call Me Moon N/R; Striking Lauren N/R; TK Diva N/R  

Northfield
3/1/13, Rockratese R5; Penna Nicole R6; She’sa Town Girl R9; +Real Time Dream 9; Southwind Rah Rah R14; Rhianne R14
Taylorland Cyprus N/R  

Pompano
Rader Detector NR; Allen The Optomist NR; KM Sweet Dreams N/R; Allamerican Major N/R; Premier N/R; Whiteland Will N/R 

 

Ray Cotolo contributed to this edition.